Double Life (Hiatus)
by Isilia Delfore
Summary: Man, what a hell of a time did she "pick" to go home. ((Please note: The M rating is mainly for gore and violence, sexual themes will be rare but might occur.))
1. Prolouge- Memories

" _Our Hero, our Hero, claims our Warriors' hearts…"_

* * *

 _This is it, I'm going to be executed just for crossing the damn_ border _, she thought as the Imperial officer shoved the previous prisoner's decapitated corpse to the side so that the block was clear for the next unlucky soul. She heard the Stormcloak Nord to her left say something about his recently deceased comrade, but her gut feeling was telling her that luck was not in her favor, so whatever he said didn't register in her ears. I've got a really bad feeling about this, she thought to herself. The pit in her stomach grinded into her as her feeling was confirmed. "Next, the Nord in the rags!" The officer barked, looking right at her. She cursed under her breath, could anything else go against her fate? Before she had a chance to move, a loud and deep roar sounded in the distance. People looked around and at the sky in confusion. "Did you hear that?" The Nord in Imperial armor asked to the officer, looking at them. The officer gave a solid and stern look, "I said:_ Next Prisoner _." The Nord looked at her, a small sadness in his eyes as he said, "I'm sorry, at least you'll die here, in your homeland." She steps forward, and goes to face the block. She steadied her breathing and calmed her nerves; the last thing she wanted was to give any sort of satisfaction to the officer as she was pulled down and forced to lay her neck over the block. Her eyes stared at the Imperial Headsman with a vacant expression, knowing full well she can't talk or buy her way out of this. It seems her return will end before it even had a chance to begin. Just before the Headsman swung his axe down upon her neck, that monstrous roar came back, louder and much closer than before with the sounds of wings flapping. A huge, black winged creature landed on the watch tower and roared again, causing a fuzzy ring in her ears._

" _What in Oblivion is that?!"_

" _Daar Lein los dii!"_

* * *

"…Hey, Delfore. You there?"

She blinked, looking around as the memory faded back into the depths of her mind. Gone were the prisoners, the Imperial soldiers, the watch tower and the black beast; replaced by woodlands, a main road, horses, her companion and her in saddles. Rags took the form of leather armor, and the familiar weight of her swords, quiver, and bow were once again felt. _It was only a memory,_ she thought to herself as she remembers where she was going and the reason why. Delvin had a little assignment for her back in the Flagon; he wanted her to change the numbers in the ledger belonging to the blacksmith who lived in Whiterun. She was checking some arrows on her bed in the Cistern, mostly prepared for the trip when Rune, another Thieves' Guild member, came up to her. He asked her if she wanted to team up with him in going to Whiterun, since he was preparing to go there for a Bedlam and Sweep job. She's only been in the Guild for two weeks by then, so why not? She's heard his story, and he seems to be a good thief. They had decided that they would split the profits of the jobs evenly. She nodded to herself, yes, that was the reason for her being here. She wonders what sparked that vivid memory, was it something she heard?

"Delfore?" Rune asks again, giving her a curious look with a raised brow.

"Hm? What is it?" She replied, looking back at Rune with her sapphire colored eyes. _Damnit,_ she thought, _how long was I out of it?_

"Looked like you were having a pretty detailed daydream there," Rune said with a curiosity lined tone, "even your expression would change." He didn't necessarily ask a question, but she knew he wanted details about it. In her mind she scolded herself for having a dream in front of one of the Guild members, no doubt there's a chance it'll spread about eventually.

"My expression would change eh? Sorry to say, but the dream is already fading away," She countered, hoping she can persuade him to avoid the topic at hand. She adjusted herself in the saddle and rolled her shoulders a small bit to work out the kinks she felt in her bones. "Besides," she said, "we're close to Whiterun. We've got some jobs to do."

Rune sighed and made a small wave of his hand, "Yeah yeah I know. I sweep the Battleborn's place while you change the numbers in the smithy. Then we steal for the bedlam job. Easy enough." He sounded rather confident of himself, which Delfore figured there was enough reason to be. These jobs are rather easy, especially in the daytime when the families are out and about. However it was nearing night outside, which will makes things both simpler but harder. They won't have to worry about getting caught by a lot of people, and she knew the guards' routes almost by memory now; however the families and shopkeepers will most likely be asleep in their homes, so she and Rune would have to tread extra lightly. With how the guild's luck has been, Delfore won't celebrate until she's well out of the hold. "Don't push whatever luck we have left out now Rune," She countered warily, giving him an annoyed side glance.

"Trust me Delfore, ever since you've joined up things have been going a bit better," Rune replied with a serious tone to combat her remark, "Everyone's aware of your skill. I mean you handled the Goldenglow job pretty damn well. It's what the Guild has been needing, someone with a good amount of luck."

"Mm…" She grunted softly, quickly deciding not to rain on Rune's parade. She remembers that very busy day, having started with the Guild's second Brynjolf pull her right into a market scheme to getting payments from around town… to finally the raid on Goldenglow. From what she could see, Brynjolf was quite convinced of her abilities as a thief… That was to be expected, since she _was_ quite the practiced thief. When he introduced her to the Guildmaster Mercer, the man immediately put her to a difficult test. Even having talked to Vex, she still had to kill a few mercenaries to avoid total detection… The only highlight was being able to sell that bee statue to Delvin. The city of Whiterun loomed in the distance, with the sun quickly setting. "About time we got here," Delfore said with a long sigh, "Sun's going down though, so we'll have a slightly tougher time."

She heard Rune chuckle a bit, "Well, let's grab a bite to eat and some mead to refresh ourselves eh?"


	2. Update Schedule!

**THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!**

I finally have an uodate schedule figured out! I wanted to make one for awhile, so I can really get started on my stories and finish them, but I'm going to be moving soon so I hadn't had much time for anything. Well anyway, here's the schedule! It starts the first week of August!

The first and third weeks of every month I plan on updating my stories. Now I may not be able to update all the time, but I will try to let you readers know if I won't be updating for any reason.

 **Mondays:** Agent Virginia

 **Wednesdays:** A Few Tricks

 **Fridays:** Through the Mists

 **Saturdays:** Double Life

Thank you for taking the time to read my stories, and I hope you'll continue to read and enjoy them for the future!


	3. Chapter 1- The Job (Pt 1)

**Sorry this one was a day late, I was busy and had to give myself a little time to think on how to continue this since it's been so long! I hope you enjoy!**

" _I tell you, I tell you, the Dragonborn comes…"_

 _"You, you are Dragonborn, aren't you?"_

 _"What? I… I don't know." She stared, a little dumbfoundedly at her hands. What was that light? It came from the now skeletal beast of a dragon and engulfed her for a few moments. It felt… warm, and fulfilling._

 _"In the very oldest of tales, back from when dragons still roamed in Skyrim, the Dragonborn would slay dragons and steal their power," The guard said with a matter of fact tone, "That's what you did isn't it? Absorbed the Dragon's power?"_

 _"I think… you may be right," She replies after giving it some thought. She remembers hearing a few of the legends about Dragonborn, but… can she really be something like that?_

 _"Well, if it's true, try to Shout… only a Dragonborn can Shout without training, like the dragons do. Try it on the corpse," The guard suggested, looking a little eager to see it happen._

 _She turned around, sighing a little, "I guess I can give it a try…" What the hell did she get herself into?_

The sounds of music and chatter filled the air, creating a rather calm and homely atmosphere. She could see the entire room from where she sat, which is what she liked. It's been quite some time since she was in Whiterun… Was it a few weeks or months? It was hard to tell with all the travel she does. Delfore picked up her cup of ale and took a small drink. Her and Rune were here on business, and not of the legal kind. She was here for a Numbers job, to take the ledger in the Blacksmith's and change the numbers. Rune, meanwhile, was going to Sweep the Battleborn's house as well as steal from the general and alchemist stores in town for a Bedlam job. The two had agreed to work together and split the total profits evenly when they got back to Riften. Delfore had also agreed to help Rune steal from the alchemist shop, and they would split their spoils from that as well.

"Now that hits the spot after a long day of travel, doesn't it?" Rune said with a chuckle as he went and sat across from the table Delfore was sitting at. They had come to the inn to rest and eat before going on their jobs.

"Sure does," Delfore responded with a small smirk, "Though, I'm used to the travel." She finished her drink and set the cup down on the table before pushing her chair back and standing. "I'm going to go pay my friend the Blacksmith a visit, I'll meet up with you later alright?"

"Already? Well, okay. Just try not to be late, I'd like not to stand around out in the open for you to come by," Rune replies with a shrug, taking a small wedge of cheese and biting into it.

"I'm never late," Delfore said with her smirk widening, before making her way to the doors.

Night had just fallen over Whiterun, and the only light that still glowed were from street lanterns and the torches of the guards. She breathed in the cool night air and gave a sigh. Even though nighttime jobs had their difficulties, she liked doing them. She had a light grate to begin with, over the years and years of pickpocketing and stealing. She walked down the steps towards the main gateway into the city. The blacksmith was near the gate, on her left. She made note of the guards as she walked down the path. They seem to patrol the upper parts of the city more so than the ones by the gate, which made sense… the guards on the wall could generally watch the lower portions. However, there was always a black door, and since it wasn't well lit she should be able to pick the lock and slip in no problem.

Once she saw the blacksmith sign ahead she quickly and quietly slipped into the alleyway, instinctively crouching and moving at a slowly pace. She made it to the back of a house, and went from shadow to shadow until she reached the back door of the blacksmith. She quickly looked around. She was in the shade, her back against the smithy, and she didn't see a guard in sight. _Good, makes my job easier,_ she thought to herself as she took out her knife and one of her many picks. She inched closed to the door and carefully inserted her tools.

It took three picks and several quite curses later until she finally got the door unlocked. _Need to practice lockpicking more when I get back to the guild,_ she noted to herself, cracking the door open. She leaned her head towards the crack and closed her eyes to listen. All she heard was the crackling of a fire, but that was it. Waiting five more minutes, she then carefully opened the door and slipped on through.

She quickly noted that the fire was a cooking fire, and she appeared to be in the back of the shop where the kitchen and dining set was. Still crouching, she turned and quietly closed the door behind her. She moved slowly through the store, coming into the main showroom area. She glanced around for anything to catch her eye… but the iron armor and weapons just didn't suit her right now. Iron armor was bulky and made noise while you moved, and she already had two iron swords. She turned her attention to the stairs. Ah, stairs, the bane of her existence. _Why can't everything be on one fucking floor? Stairs make so much noise,_ she thought angrily to herself. Steeling her nerves and taking a deep and quiet breath, she went and ascended the stairs. It took her fifteen minutes to climb the stairs, stopping every time she heard a creak from the stairs. Once she got to the top she saw that the balcony only led to one room… and since she didn't see the shopkeeper or the ledger than meant that both where in that room, probably the bedroom.

She quietly made her way to the bedroom and peeked inside, sure enough she saw the shopkeeper asleep on the bed… and the ledger on the dresser. She quietly went in, her breath becoming just a slight whisper in the air. The shopkeeper shifted and she froze… but he didn't awaken. Her heart pounded in her ears and she stood there transfixed as she tried to calm herself down. She reached behind and rummaged through her pouch, producing a small stick of charcoal. She carefully made her way to the ledger and stood up, quickly changing the numbers in the ledger. _Okay… now to just get out of here and get to the alchemist's…_


End file.
